All of our officers at the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles School Police Department are committed to community and student safety, and are dedicated supporters of offering constructive activities for youth after the school day ends. LAPD and LASPD have a responsibility to ensure a safe learning environment for the entire school community. Students first and foremost, but also for teachers, staff, parents, neighbors — everybody.

We create these safe spaces through LAPD’s Police Activities League and LASPD’s Youth Programs, which provide educational, athletic and other recreational activities to help connect police officers and the youth in our communities.

But we cannot accomplish our goal of creating safe environments for all students without the help of California’s After School Education and Safety (ASES) program, which funds after school enrichment activities for thousands of L.A. students.

ASES funds incredible after school providers like the community-based organization L.A.’s BEST, which provides homework assistance, recreation and activities, as well as safety and supervision after school, in partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District and the city of Los Angeles.

Thanks to ASES funding, LA’s BEST serves 25,000 children at 193 L.A. Unified schools. In L.A. Unified, Beyond the Bell ASES programs serve more than 100,000 students in 236 elementary schools and 95 middle schools. Statewide, more than 400,000 students daily in 4,000 programs benefit from ASES programs.

Collectively, these programs give kids a safe place to play and interact in a positive environment. They allow for extra instruction time on science and math lessons and offer academic tutoring and homework assistance. They provide access to healthy meals and snacks, and expose students to the arts, robotics, yoga and more.

By keeping kids supervised and engaged, after-school programs not only help children develop but also reduce crime and delinquency. The extra academic support and tutoring helps close the achievement gap and boosts daily attendance rates, which in turn makes it more likely that students will go on to graduate from high school, attend college and become successful in the workforce.

With over 72 years of law enforcement experience between us, we can tell that you that giving city kids a safe space to play after school is one of the best crime-prevention tools in our box. We know from experience that violent juvenile crime spikes between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Research confirms that during these hours, teens and pre-teen students are more likely to interact with gang members and experiment with drugs and alcohol.

Unfortunately, funding for after-school programs has remained stagnant for over a decade, despite rising labor and other operational costs. Many programs have been forced to cut enrollment, enrichment activities and academic support, while reducing staff hours and training opportunities. In one survey, nearly 30 percent of providers said they may be forced to close their doors within two years.

Senate Bill 78, authored by state Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, will provide additional funding to the After School Education and Safety program in response to the statutory minimum wage increases that have been passed onto these programs and tie future increases in ASES funding to future increases in the state minimum wage.

Our officers are committed to driving positive change in their schools and communities. Failing to sustain high-quality after-school programs would have a negative impact on the L.A. community. That’s not a step we can afford to take right now, but with after-school programs facing potential funding cuts at the federal level, that’s the reality we’ll face if California doesn’t act and approve SB78.

The way we see it, continued support and funding for after-school programs will help keep kids engaged and learning in the critical after-school hours, ensuring more successful LAUSD students and safer streets throughout Los Angeles. That’s a winning combination that will benefit our students, our citizens and our city.

Charlie Beck is chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. Steven K. Zipperman is chief of the Los Angeles School Police Department.

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